Austro-German Empiricism

The aim of this talk is to offer a set of guidelines for a reinterpreted history of modern empiricism — one in which the distinct contribution of Austro-German philosophers to it is more thoroughly acknowledged and properly recognized. I start with a paradox raised by Hume, which I argue has played a central role in the history of modern empiricism. My suggestion is that there are essentially two empiricist approaches to addressing this paradox. The first was originally advanced by Hume himself and later adopted by empiricists such as Brentano. The second, advocated by Avenarius, Mach, and the early Carnap, may be regarded as the distinctive contribution of Austro-German philosophers to the development of empiricism.